Athleticism can be portrayed in many ways, but sophomore Bella Samuelson shows it by strengthening herself with the heavy metal weights and never ending running. Along with other athletes, they are aided with a weight room and sports fields for their teams to use during preseason. Samuelson plays junior varsity soccer and said the tough conditioning the players participate in to build their strength for the season.
“We condition by doing sprints, doing running tests, and going on runs along with practicing drills that require endurance,” Samuelson said.
With soccer comes lots of running, which is why many of their preseason practices are mostly a combination of running drills. However, in girls’ softball, the players utilize the weight room to their advantage.
Sophomore Sofia Moore has played softball for two years and is currently on her third, and she has seen some improvements from the consistency of the weight room.
“We also do weight lifting and strength training… it gets a lot easier the more we do lifting,” Moore said.
Through muscle-oriented skills such as pitching, catching, and batting, the weight room is very useful for softball players rather than sports that focus on endurance. Their strength training workouts are coached by Toni Paciotti, so that they can maximize their time in the most effective way. For girls’ lacrosse, sophomore Payton Bannon uses both running and weightlifting to achieve success on the field.
“We usually lift, do ab workouts, and run. Sometimes we run and lift back to back. It really depends on the day,” Bannon said.
On Bannon’s lacrosse team, the lifting workout doesn’t begin until they complete a two mile run. A combination of strength training along with long distance running keeps the players’ cardiovascular and muscular strength in peak condition.
The athletes’ preseasons begin early. Soccer’s season begins in February, but their workouts begin in January. For softball and lacrosse, they start preseason in October, but their actual season starts in February as well.
Samuelson’s thoughts on the preseason lean towards a more beneficial outcome.
“It’s an important part of preparing for the season and seeing your teammates and coach before the season actually begins… it prepares me and keeps me in shape,” Samuelson said.
For Samuelson, training early is what keeps her body going and ready for the season ahead. However, Moore believes the duration of preseason to not be beneficial to the players. In one way, the preseason is made for athletes to prepare themselves, but in another perspective, athletes can be dragging themselves through the months of extra practices.
“Preseason is almost more time than our actual season. Sometimes it feels like we are practicing all year long,” Moore said.
Even with hosting practices before sports seasons begin, the athletes often train by themselves. On their own time, they condition themselves to receive a starting advantage over those who do not train by themselves.
“I train by myself everyday I don’t have practice. I go on runs, do full body workouts, and practice drills in my backyard,” Samuelson said.
As Samuelson is utilizing her time at home, other players like Moore and Bannon continue using the weight room workouts and conditioning workouts their coach provides. All sports
teams give their players an opportunity to enhance their skills before tryouts and their seasons to create the best possible athletes they can be.
“Since it’s optional it is tempting to stay home, but if you put in the hard work it will come back to you,” Moore said.